ICT London Open Model: Trading the Asian Range Sweep

The London session is often where the forex day finds its first real direction. Before it opens, the Asian session usually builds a quiet range. The London open model is a routine for trading what happens next: London runs the stops on one side of that range, then, if the idea is right, turns and heads the other way. It is a practical, time-boxed application of the Judas swing idea.

What it is

The model has three parts, all in New York local time (ET):

1. The Asian range (20:00–00:00 ET). Mark the high and low. Stops and pending orders tend to collect just beyond both edges, as described in opening prices and the Asian range.
2. The London kill zone (02:00–05:00 ET). Watch for price to trade through one side of the Asian range. If your daily bias is bullish, you want a run below the Asian low; if bearish, a run above the Asian high.
3. The reversal entry. After the sweep, wait for displacement back into the range with a market structure shift, then enter on the retrace into the fair value gap it leaves.

Targets come in layers: the opposite side of the Asian range first, then a higher-timeframe level such as the previous day high or low. Some educators measure the Asian range from 19:00 ET or use a slightly different London window. Pick one definition and keep it.

How to identify it

1. Set your daily bias before the session, using the higher-timeframe draw on liquidity.
2. Box the Asian range from 20:00 to 00:00 ET. Note its size in pips.
3. Check the calendar for UK or eurozone releases between 02:00 and 05:00 ET.
4. Wait for the counter-bias sweep. With a bullish bias, price should trade below the Asian low.
5. Confirm displacement and an MSS on the 5-minute or 15-minute chart, back toward the range.
6. Mark the fair value gap from the displacement and place a limit entry at its edge or 50% level.
7. Set the stop a few pips beyond the sweep extreme and check that the first target is worth the risk.

When to skip it

• The Asian range is unusually wide. A wide range means much of the day's move may already be done. Many traders set a personal maximum in pips for each pair.
• London takes both sides before giving a structure shift. The picture is no longer clear.
• The sweep goes with your bias, not against it. That may be a continuation, which is a different trade.
• High-impact news is due inside the window, or it is a major bank holiday with thin trade.

Worked example: a bullish London open on EUR/USD

All prices are illustrative. Assume the daily bias on EUR/USD is bullish and the draw on liquidity is the previous day high at 1.0905.

• Asian range (20:00–00:00 ET): high 1.0872, low 1.0851, a 21-pip range.
• 02:25 ET: price drops to 1.0843, 8 pips below the Asian low, running the sell-side stops.
• 02:40 ET: a displacement rally reaches 1.0866, breaking a 5-minute swing high at 1.0860. That is the MSS.
• The rally leaves a bullish FVG from 1.0849 to 1.0855. Its 50% level is 1.0852.

The entry sits just above the old Asian low, inside the gap, and the stop at 1.0839 is 4 pips below the sweep low of 1.0843.

• Risk: 1.0852 − 1.0839 = 13 pips.
• Target 1: 1.0872 − 1.0852 = 20 pips, about 1.5 times the risk.
• Target 2: 1.0905 − 1.0852 = 53 pips, about 4.1 times the risk.

With a $10,000 account risking 1% ($100) and about $10 per pip per standard lot, position size = $100 ÷ (13 × $10) ≈ 0.77 lots. A typical plan is to take partial profit at the Asian high, move the stop to breakeven, and leave the rest aimed at the previous day high. If price has not reached target 2 by the end of the London kill zone, some traders close or tighten the remainder, because the New York session may bring a different move.

How traders use it

• As a morning routine for traders in time zones where 02:00–05:00 ET is a workable hour. The Forex Sessions tool helps convert the times.
• With the midnight open. Longs below the midnight open and shorts above it place the entry in the day's discount or premium.
• As a setup for New York. If London delivered the move, the New York open model may look for continuation or a reversal of it.
• On the pairs that suit it. EUR/USD and GBP/USD are common choices because London is their most active session. Test each pair separately.

Trading carries substantial risk. A sweep of the Asian low can be the start of a real decline, so the stop must be in place from the moment the order is filled.

Common mistakes

• Trading the break of the range instead of the failure of the break.
• No bias. Without a view, either sweep looks like a signal, and the model becomes a coin toss.
• Entering before the MSS. Buying the sweep low directly is guessing where it ends.
• Placing the stop at the Asian low rather than below the sweep extreme.
• Ignoring the range size. A 60-pip Asian range on EUR/USD is a different market from a 20-pip one.

Summary

The ICT London open model marks the Asian range from 20:00 to 00:00 ET, waits for the London kill zone (02:00–05:00 ET) to sweep the side opposite the daily bias, and enters on the MSS and FVG that follow. Targets are the other side of the range and then higher-timeframe liquidity. Skip it when the range is too wide, both sides are taken or news is due, and size every trade from the stop distance.